Power prices soar on the eve of winter

On the eve of winter as New Zealanders are turning
on their heaters, power prices have soared sky high,
Labour’s Energy spokesperson David Shearer says.

“Energy Minster Simon Bridges claimed in Parliament
that prices were estimated to rise 2.4 per cent over the six
months from February to August.

“Last month, many
regions exceeded that in just one month.

“In parts
of Waikato, Wellington, Tauranga and Christchurch some power
company prices have jumped over 6 per cent in just a month.
Other companies have hiked their prices up a staggering 10
per cent in a month.

“Prices are out of control
and totally unreasonable for people facing high power bills
with winter coming. It is simply not fair for Kiwis to face
those sorts of bills.

“In Auckland prices have
gone up around 1.5 per cent in one month. These projections
will blow Simon Bridges estimates in just two months.

“The increases have been picked up on the PowerSwitch
website. It tracks power prices and its latest update
records the power bill hikes that many Kiwis experienced
when they received last month’s bills.

“Just
four weeks ago, John Key dismissed those increases in family
power bills, saying it was Transpower charges – something
Transpower quickly refuted. These latest increases dwarf
anything Transpower could pass through.

“The
electricity market is clearly broken. With electricity
demand falling but prices soaring, prices should be going
down, not up. The Key Government is defending a system which
results in higher bills for families to maintain higher
profits for newly privatised power companies.

“Genesis, the company that was sold off in the past
week has been the worst culprit beating others on the
magnitude of its price rises, across most regions.

“Labour’s NZ Power policy will reduce prices by
hundreds of dollars a year and stem the ever increasing
cycle of power price rises,” David Shearer says.

Results from the PowerSwitch website

Simon
Bridges said power prices would increase 2.4% from 1
February to 1 August this year.

The latest
PowerSwitch data shows significant price hikes taking
place in most areas of New Zealand in just the last
monththat are in excess of 2.4%.

Prices are
likely to rise far more than Bridges has claimed. Already
rises up to 10% in one month have been recorded.

The
statistics below are just for power price increases for the
average consumer so some individuals will face even larger
increases.

Major increases to annual bill from
March to April this year by area:

Wellington

• Powershop is up from $2,155 to
$2,280 - $125 or 5.8%• Contact is up from
$2,169 to $2,293 - $124 or 5.7%• Meridian is up
from $2,181 to $2,314 - $133 or 6.1%• Genesis
is up from $2,228 to $2,384 - $156 or
7%• Mercury is up from $2,252 to $2,385 - $133
or 5.9%• Nova is up from $2,253 to $2,386 -
$133 or 5.9%

Christchurch

• Nova
is up from $2,044 to $2,235 - $191 or
9.3%• Contact is up from $2,060 to $2,148 - $88
or 4.3%• Genesis is up from $2,204 to $2,356 -
$152 or 6.9%• Powershop is up from $2,206 to
$2,409 - $203 or 9.2%

Waikato

• Contact is up from $2,102 to $2,213 - $111 or
5.3%• Nova is up from $2,132 to $2,350 - $218
or 10.2%• Meridian is up from $2,181 to $2,301
– $120 or 5.5%• Genesis is up from $2,191 to
$2,309 - $118 or 5.4%• Mercury is up from
$2,201 to $2,321 - $120 or 5.5%• Powershop is
up from $2,217 to $2,328 - $111 or 5%

Tauranga

• Powershop is up from $2,083 to
$2,107 - $24 or 1.2%• Mercury is up from $2,140
to $2,209 - $69 or 3.2%• Genesis is up from
$2,153 to $2,261 - $108 or 4.7%• Nova is up
from $2,172 to $2,285 - $114 or 5.2%• Contact
is up from $2,278 to $2,341 - $63 or
2.8%• Meridian is up from $2,361 to $2,429 -
$68 or 2.9%• Trustpower is up from $2,478 to
$2,547 - $69 or 2.8%

Auckland
Central/Manukau

• Contact is up from $2,018 to
$2,046 - $28 or 1.4%• Powershop is up from
$2,127 to $2,149 - $22 or 1%• Nova is up from
$2,156 to $2,172 - $16 or 0.7%• Meridian is up
from $2,149 to $2,180 - $31 or 1.4%• Genesis is
up from $2,204 to $2,284 - $80 or 3.6%• Mercury
is up from $2,251 to $2,282 – $31 or 1.4%

Dunedin

• Nova is up from $1,907 to $2,015 -
$108 or 5.7%• Powershop is up from $1,948 to
$1,992 - $44 or 2.3%• Contact is up from $1,948
to $1,996 - $48 or 2.5%• Genesis is up from
$1,981 to $2,074 - $93 or 4.7%• Mercury is up
from $2,081 to $2,134 - $53 or 2.5%

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